Were there any particular bands or songs at the time that influenced your Metallica productions?
I grew up with an older brother who started listening to the Rolling Stones when they released their first album in 1963. So, my influence is almost any rock band from the mid-1960s and on. But at the time I did the Metallica albums, my favorites were, amongst others, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin, and Queen. I had never heard trash metal before, but I love aggressive music with a “tuff” sound.
How did the process go? Were the guitar parts written in the studio or already laid out?
Metallica, in that period, made demos. All the songs were composed, arranged, and recorded on a very good demo. We only changed parts slightly on some of the songs.
What microphones were used to record the guitar parts?
All three albums were recorded analog on 24-track tape machines using Ampex 456 tape. On the first two albums, all mics went through my Trident A Range console. In those days, we used the mic preamps in the console – very few people had external mic pres. On all of the albums, the main mics are the Shure SM7 and Neumann U 87; close-mic'd and pointing to the center of one of the speaker cones. Most guitars were recorded using two cabinets. Then, at an angle of 45 degrees from the corner of the cab and three to six feet away, I used AKG gold The Tube mics; one on each cabinet. For room mics I used Brüel & Kjær [now Danish Audio Design] 4006 omnis, approximately 10 to 15 feet away. On the first two albums, all EQs were the A Range. On …Justice… I used an old 1073-style Neve desk and had a B&B audio EQ inserted on the [effects] loop of the amp! That way, I could tweak the sound of the amp from the control room.
How did you accomplish Metallica’s vision of guitar tones? Was this discussed beforehand, or was it something that came together in the studio?
On the first album, we tried to re-create the sound of one of James Hetfield’s guitar amps that had been stolen just prior to the session. But, for the final result on the albums, it was very much James and I who decided how it should sound, and we pretty much made it up as we went along.
How did you go about getting the rhythm crunch guitars on songs like “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Battery”? It sounds as if there are several layers of guitar.
All rhythm guitars were doubled at least once, and at places we have as many as six to eight guitars at the same time. James is so tight that it sounds like one guitar. Some of the guitar sounds were made to fit or add to the main guitars, so when combined it made that big sound we all liked.
On Metallica's song “One," how did you capture the dynamics? Were the quieter parts recorded separately and then spliced together with the aggressive parts?
We recorded the different parts separately and made sounds for the specific part. That included how we overdubbed, so every part sounded the best we could produce. All quiet parts were recorded separately, as were the clean guitars, and all guitars were dubbed in after we’d done the drum tracks.
Do you have a favorite “can’t live without” recording processor or effect that you used on these recordings?
Oh, yes. My old, trusted Trident A Range desk, Urei 1176LN [compressors], and the Shure SM7. As for guitar effects, I make it up as I go. I always listen to what the amp sounds like in the studio, and if I don’t like it I start tweaking. The source is always the most important. You can’t save a bad guitar sound with EQs and compressors.
